The Miami Hurricanes and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets get ready to rumble at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The game is set to get underway on Saturday, October 1st at Noon ET and will be shown on the ESPN2 Network. The lined opened at Miami being a -6.5 favorite and the over/under at 49.
In 2015, the Miami Hurricane’s Mark Walton found the end zone on three occasions against Georgia Tech. The starting running back ran for two and caught another. Also, Miami took full advantage of a generous Georgia Tech offense that turned over the rock four different times. As a result, the Canes’ converted them into 21 points en route to a 38-21 home field victory.
#14 Miami Hurricanes (3-0):
The Miami Hurricanes enter this contest on the heels of a dominating performance against the up and comers from Appalachian State. The Hurricanes thrashed the Mountaineers 45-10, with quarterback Brad Kaaya hitting 21-27 passes for 368 yards and three scores. Miami’s tail back Mark Walton was a force out of the back field. He racked up 130 yards and two more touchdowns.
Senior signal-caller Brad Kaaya got off to a slow start, but turned it up a notch or two a few weeks ago against Appalachian State. Kaaya has now completed 65.8 percent of his passes for almost 700 yards. The offensive captain has seven touchdown tosses and three interceptions. He performed well against the Yellow Jackets in last years affair.
Running back Mark Walton leads the Hurricanes in rushing. The shifty runner has 48 carries for just over 400 yards and an impressive seven touchdowns. His partner in crime Joseph Yearby, is no slouch either. He has contributed another 256 yards and four scores to the offense.
Brad Kaaya’s favorite targets are Ammon Richards and Stacey Coley. Together, the wide outs have nabbed 20 catches for just under 250 yards and four end-zone grabs. Six different receivers have over five catches, adding three more touchdowns to that total.
The hiring of defensive coach Manny Diaz has already made an impact. Through the first two games of the year, Miami led the country in tackles for losses (28), and was tied for first in sacks with 10. Those numbers already are close to being better than last years totals through 13 games.
Georgia Tech (3-1):
Georgia Tech is off to a good start. The Yellow Jackets have already equaled last years win total. Coach Paul Johnson’s spread option attack racked-up 289 yards against a solid Vanderbilt defense a few weeks back, but was completely stymied last week against Clemson.
Quarterback Justin Thomas kicks off the one-sided attack under center. He has thrown for 364 yards and a touchdown, but his ability manage the ground game is what makes him special. Thomas has carried the ball 38 times for almost 150 yards and a score.
When Justin Thomas shucks the rock, he looks for his number one tailback Dedrick Mills. The freshman runner has almost 50 carries for 200 plus yards and five trips to pay-dirt.
When the Yellow Jackets do drop back to pass, it’s usually to receivers Ricky Jeune or Qua Searcy. Together, they have a combined 13 catches for just over two hundred yards and no scores. Both wide outs are excellent blockers that give the backs a chance to get the edge.
The Yellow Jackets defense is performing pretty well since the start of the season. They held what was suppose to be a pretty explosive offense in Clemson to 26 points. No other team has scored more than 14. As of now, Georgia Tech is giving up 14 points a contest which is good for 14th in the nation.
Trends and Notes:
The Hurricanes are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
The Under is 11-5 in Hurricanes last 16 conference games.
The Yellow Jackets are 2-10-1 ATS in their last 13 games overall.
The Under is 5-1 in Yellow Jackets last 6 conference games.
Game Prediction:
Miami starts their ACC Conference schedule in Georgia Tech. Their coach Mark Richt is 8-0 in his career at this venue. The defense is flying to the ball and getting into the opposing teams backfield. That is a huge advantage if they can mimic that against the Yellow Jackets.
The Miami Hurricane’s offense seems to have gotten on track at home a few weeks ago. They’ll need that to continue if they want to make their mark in the ACC in 2016. Georgia Tech has proven they can stop the run so Brad Kaaya will need another solid outing to secure the victory for Miami.
Baring a few offensive outbursts the Hurricanes should be able to keep the Yellow Jackets spread option attack in check. The fact that the Ramblin’ Wreck are so one dimensional, gives defensive coordinator Manny Diaz a better chance of preparing during the bye week.
The over/under total could go either way in this one so were looking to the spread. Currently, Miami is a -6.5 point favorite, which makes sense considering the improvements the Canes’ have made on defense.
This game should stay close for a while but Miami should best the Yellow Jackets by at least a touchdown. Take the Canes’ at -6.5 before it jumps to seven or seven and a half.
